Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul joined a multi-faith prayer vigil in Manhattan to honor the victims of a recent shooting in Midtown. The event brought together community members and leaders to remember those who lost their lives and to support grieving families.
During her remarks, Governor Hochul expressed gratitude for the leadership shown by Mayor Eric Adams during this difficult time. She also thanked Commissioner Jessica Tisch for her work with the NYPD and her response to the tragedy.
Governor Hochul spoke about the impact of the shooting on families, sharing conversations she had with relatives of victims. She recounted speaking with a young husband who lost his wife and a widow expecting her third child, emphasizing the collective grief felt by New Yorkers.
She said, “They say that grief is the price you pay for love. What does that mean? It means there were four individuals who just a little more than 24 hours ago walked this earth. They were so well loved by their parents, a husband, a wife, their children, their coworkers, that the pain is so searing right now. It seems unending…I want you to know that we love you as a city and as a State we love you.”
The governor also highlighted New York’s resilience in times of tragedy: “That heart will mend. It’ll heal — because we are resilient. We are strong. We have been tested over and over and over again, and we always come together in tragedy to lift each other up.”
Governor Hochul called for action on gun violence at the national level: “But if this nation misses yet another moment to do what is right that they’ve neglected to do for decades, then shame on them. This is the time to stand up and say no more slaughter by a weapon of mass destruction designed to kill people on the battlefield…that era must end.”
She referenced past incidents of gun violence across different locations including Buffalo three years ago where ten people died in an attack at a grocery store.
Hochul urged Congress to act: “Congress must have the courage to say, we are a great nation. Our citizens deserve better…no one should claim as a constitutional right, the ability to bear an arm I assure you our founding fathers did not contemplate when our constitution was written.”
The governor concluded by expressing support for continued advocacy against gun violence alongside Mayor Adams: “So I say we take our voices, we march…we must speak out in their names…let’s put this to bed and say our nation deserves safety and security…”
She closed with words of blessing for law enforcement officers, affected families, New York City residents, all New Yorkers statewide, and Americans nationwide.
